It's always interesting to me how the government and it's technology needs interact with the private sector, especially the VC driven tech community. Something like the Internet only occurred because of an long term partnership between government and private companies (and non-profits like universities). But each respective culture couldn't be more different and thus prone to miscommunication.

So here is an article by Irving Berger entitled "The Web and The Long, 'Soft' War" on AlwaysOn. I know he doesn't claim to speak for any particular group, but, to me, Irving's comments are a good insight into perceptions of government by the "tech community."

As I work for a PR agency with a big chunk of clients who are private sector companies selling into the government, we often say that we are translating commercial value propositions into compelling messages tailored for a government purchaser's specific needs. Too often, commercial technology vendors approach the government with a ROI message looking to make a quick buck. These companies often fail to grow their business. It good to read that Irving understands the strengths of government (at times, a long term outlook) as well as it's obvious shortcomings (ponderous slowness and political interference).